


we’ll wake up in the snow and bury all our trouble

by immortalized



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Cute boys and cute fluff and a little bit of angst, Holidays, Kidfic, M/M, Winter, i hope you enjoy, lovely lovely things, snowstorm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2714282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalized/pseuds/immortalized
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's snowing, Louis's car is dead, his cell phone doesn’t get service out here, and his kid has to pee.</p><p>Luckily for him, there's Harry.</p><p>Or, on the way to his mum's house for Christmas, Louis finds himself in a bit of a dilemma, but he also finds himself a cute boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we’ll wake up in the snow and bury all our trouble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [infinitelymint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitelymint/gifts).



> This is for infinitelymint, whose work I love love love, so I hope you like this! 
> 
> The prompt was: Louis' car breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm on his way from London to Doncaster to spend Christmas with his family, and, like, that'd be shit if it was just him, but it's double-- no, triple shit when he's got his kid in the car with him. Good thing a certain Harry Styles comes by and just so happens to live nearby. CHRISTMAS FLUFF GALORE! (or some angst, you know whatever you feel like!)
> 
> Thanks so much for the awesome prompts! It was so hard to choose, and I hope I did it justice!
> 
> Title from "Apollo" by Magic Man.

“Are we there yet?” Jamie’s voice reaches Louis in the front seat, where his eyes are fixed firmly on the road ahead. The snow is heavy tonight, the wind swirling the flakes around so violently that he can’t see through the blur of white.

It’s absolutely awful weather. People have probably _died_ in this weather before, and of course Louis's stuck in it. That’s just his luck.

“Hold on, J,” Louis tells him, trying his best to steer his car through the cloud of snow in front of him. It’s approximately negative fifteen degrees Celsius outside, the vents are full-on blasting hot air at him, and Louis has never been more grateful that he got his car’s heating unit fixed last week. “The weather’s awful tonight. I can barely see.”

“Okay, Daddy.” For the next twenty minutes or so, Jamie is quiet. Unusually quiet, seeing as at five years old, he’s the most chatty kid Louis’s ever met.

Louis casts a glance in the backseat, looking through the rearview mirror. Jamie is sitting happily, a picture book open on his lap. He has a juice box open and he’s taking sips from it intermittently before turning back to the book. “You okay, bud?”

“Yup!” Jamie says, smiling toothily. He sticks his thumb up.

“Okay, kid,” Louis laughs. “Just hold on a little bit. We’ll be there soon.” At least, Louis hopes so. 

This storm is completely unexpected and completely all-consuming. It had been lightly flurrying for the first stretch of the journey, but about a few hours in, the sky had darkened and the snow thickened. In no time at all, it had worsened to approximately a small blizzard. 

By now, the entire roadway has at least three inches of snow covering the length of it, and the sky is an ominous dark grey. At least the streets are relatively empty. He’s not seen another vehicle in the past fifteen minutes or so, and for good reason. He’s driving extremely slowly, foot on the brake at all times, but to be honest he’s got no idea where he is and how far he is from Doncaster. He thinks he’s probably gotten off track at least a few hours ago, and he’s never been more lost before in his life. There isn't any sign of civilization in sight, only trees that bend ominously under the weight of the snow.

The wind is howling loudly. Louis can barely see three feet in front of his car, and it scares him. 

He grips the steering wheel tightly and leans forward, peering through the windshield. The windshield wipers flap back and forth across the window furiously, clearing snowflakes from the surface, but each time they swipe some away, more blanket the front of the car.

Out of nowhere, a brown blur of movement flashes in the corner of Louis’s eyes, and he slams on the breaks. The tires squeal on the slick ground, spinning and slipping on the ice. The car slides several feet forward until it comes to a complete stop. Two glowing eyes peer at Louis through the windshield.

Louis exhales in one great breath. That was a close fucking call. 

The deer shakes its head at Louis disapprovingly before turning away and fleeing. It’s snow white tail blends in with the brightness of the swirling storm around it. 

“What was that?” Jamie’s voice is loud in the quiet of the car. Louis glances at him in the rearview mirror. He looks fine. Thank God.

“Just a deer,” Louis says, shaking his head quickly to brush off his shock. His heart is still racing; his palms are still sweaty. _Fuck._ “It was only a deer.”

“Are we there yet?” Jamie asks again.

“I don’t know, J.” Louis pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at the time. It’s about four hours into the drive and despite being completely unaware of where he is in the UK, Louis knows he’s probably not in Doncaster. The trip from London to Doncaster is considerably less; it’s only about one hour long. He’s definitely gotten off-course at some point during this storm, but he’s got no idea how or why. Louis tries to pull up Google Maps on his phone, but of course there’s no service wherever he is in the middle of this blizzard. 

He unfolds a paper map out of the car door pocket but it’s clearly no help, seeing as he has no idea where he is. Louis fights the urge to bang his head against the steering wheel in frustration. What the hell is there to do now?

“Daddy!” Jamie whines. “I have to pee.”

“Can you hold it for maybe twenty minutes or so, please?” Louis asks, squinting through the storm in front of him. He’s at a complete loss of what to do. 

There’s no buildings in the immediate area. All he can see are trees and open land. Off in the distance, there are a few lights, where there are presumably shops or something. Wherever he is, it’s remote and it’s small. Maybe he should try and head over to the lights in the distance and find a bathroom for Jamie and maybe a place to get warm, and then he can figure out what to do next.

The problem is, when he presses his foot down on the gas, the car makes a strangled, sputtering sound, chokes, and dies.

Shit.

Louis hasn’t realized he’s spoken aloud until Jamie pipes up from the backseat. “What does that mean, daddy?”

“Nothing,” Louis tells him quickly. “It’s a bad word, don’t say it. I shouldn’t have said it.”

Satisfied, Jamie turns back to his picture book. 

Louis glances at the dashboard. He’s still got a tank half-full of petrol, but the car has turned off. He tries twisting the key in the ignition again and groans when it fails to start. 

Fucking shit.

See, this would be fine if Louis was alone. He could possibly handle this alone. But he’s got Jamie, and he’s responsible for him, so this situation is doubly - no, triply - worse.

Telling Jamie to stay put, Louis opens the car door and grimaces as he steps into the road. Although there’s no cars coming, he decides to push the car to the shoulder of the road so that they’re not blocking the street. It’s difficult work, because the snow is so deep and the road is so icy, but he manages to push it mostly to the shoulder. After he does so, he tries in vain to get a cell phone signal. No luck.

Louis exhales loudly, watching his breath turn into a giant cloud of fog in front of his face. There’s nothing around for miles, and he’s truly stranded up the creek without a paddle. His car is dead, his cell phone doesn’t get service out here, and his kid has to pee. 

This is probably the worst day of his life.

At this point, he could either walk over to the lights in the distance with Jamie and risk freezing his arse off, or he could wait in the car and risk freezing his arse off. So really, there’s not much of a choice.

He gets into the backseat with Jamie and sighs, leaning his head back. “Okay, buddy, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have to walk a little ways in that direction so we can hopefully find a toilet for you, okay?”

Jamie nods eagerly. “Okay, dad!” Poor kid must really have to pee.

Louis helps Jamie bundle himself up in his puffy jacket, hat, gloves and scarf, then puts on his own scarf and hat. 

“Alright, Jamie,” Louis says. “Let’s go.”

He grabs Jamie’s hand and helps him out of the car. The snow is almost a foot now, and Jamie’s legs are so short that he’s barely standing up above the snow. Louis lifts him onto his hip instead. He’s about to resign himself to carrying Jamie the several miles to the lights when a car rolls down the road behind them, creeping carefully over the snowdrifts. Thank God.

Louis waves his arm back and forth to get the driver’s attention. He’s a little wary of strangers, but at this point, he’s desperate. It’s bitterly cold out and he really doesn’t want to walk several miles while carrying Jamie in his arms.

The car pulls up beside Louis and Jamie and the window rolls down. “Hey, you okay?” the driver asks. He puts the car in park and undoes his seatbelt. “The storm’s getting worse out.”

Louis peers at him from around his scarf. The driver looks to be a young man, about twenty or so, with brown curly hair peeking out from under a knit hat. He’s also wrapped up in a burgundy scarf that covers much of his face. He’s alone in the car, but there are a pile of presents in the backseat. 

“Um, not really,” Louis explains. “My car’s broke down, I’ve not got a phone signal, and my son here has to use the toilet.” 

The stranger grimaces, climbing out of the driver’s seat to lean against the car. “Ooh. Bad luck, with the storm and all.”

“Yeah, and I’m not familiar with the area,” Louis tells him, shifting Jamie up further on his hip. “Do you know how far the nearest town is? Or auto repair shop?”

“Fortunately for you, I’m from this area,” the stranger says. His eyes are green. “If you want, I could drive you into town?”

Louis hesitates, glancing at the stranger. “Um…” 

“I promise I’m not a murderer,” the stranger says. “Cross my heart.”

“That’s what a murderer would say,” Jamie pipes up, with complete and total seriousness. The stranger looks amused.

“He has a point,” Louis says.

The stranger laughs and pulls his scarf off his mouth. He’s got a pretty face, Louis notes. Big, friendly smile, open eyes, a strong jawline and finely shaped red lips.

He smiles at Jamie. “I suppose it is, yeah. What’s your name?” he asks Jamie.

“I’m Jamie Tomlinson.” Jamie tells him seriously. “I’m five years old!” He holds up five gloved fingers. 

“Nice to meet you, Jamie,” says the stranger, smiling at Jamie with bright eyes. He holds out his hand for Jamie to shake. “I’m Harry. Harry Styles.”

“Hi, Harry,” Jamie says with a sweet little smile, taking Harry’s hand. Louis looks at him fondly.

Harry grins, then turns to Louis. “So, do you want a ride?” He gestures towards his beat-up car. “We can drive through downtown and see if anything’s open?”

Louis weighs his options. In all honesty, this Harry guy seems pretty genuine in his offer, and even if he does turn out to be a murderer, Louis isn’t sure he would’ve rather stayed out here in the bitter cold. 

“Alright,” Louis concedes. “But we’re sitting in the backseat.”

Harry shrugs, brown curls falling onto his forehead. “Fair enough.” He helps Louis load his bags into the trunk of his car and push Louis’s car further off the road. “We’ll come pick up your car when it clears up and the roads are plowed,” he says. 

“So where are you from?” Harry asks as he starts driving slowly and cautiously down the street. “And where were you heading to?”

“We’re from London,” Louis says. “I was trying to get to me mum’s in Doncaster for Christmas, but I think we got really lost on the way.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you ended up here,” Harry comments. “This is Holmes Chapel in Cheshire. Yorkshire’s at least an hour east from here.”

Louis shakes his head. “Darn. I knew we were off track, but an hour off track?” He whistles. “I’m not even remotely near London or Doncaster.”

Harry chuckles. “It’s fine, it happens to the best of us. Plus, with the weather right now…”

“Our GPS lost signal,” Jamie says loudly. “I know because Daddy started yelling at it.” 

Louis blushes self-consciously and gives Jamie a mock glare. “I was not.”

Jamie nods his head. “You were!”

Harry grins, glancing in the rearview mirror at them. “Nothing to be ashamed of. I talk to my GPS all the time. Have little conversations with it about the weather and such.”

Louis laughs. In the back of his mind, he notes that Harry’s cute, he’s got an interesting sense of humor, and he’s good with kids. All good traits. 

“So, what do you do?” he asks, leaning forward a bit so he can see Harry’s profile as he concentrates on the road.

“I’m actually in between jobs right now,” Harry says. They’re a lot closer to the town now; the lights that were in the distance are now more visible and appear to be attached to lampposts lining a main street. “I went to school to become a lawyer, and I worked a few years at a big Manchester firm, but I decided I needed a change, so I’m living back at home for a while until I get a new job,” he explains. “Hopefully I’ll have one lined up by New Year’s.”

“So you’re about twenty-six,” Louis guesses.

“Actually, I turn twenty-six in a few months,” Harry replies. “February 1st.”

Jamie claps his hands in the backseat. “That’s almost my birthday!”

“Is it?” Harry asks. “And how old are you gonna be?”

“I’m gonna be six on February 7th!” Jamie exclaims, bouncing in his seat. 

“Wow!” Harry says. “Getting old there, buddy!” He laughs. “Almost as old as me. You’re catching up.”

“I’m gonna be a big boy,” Jamie informs Harry solemnly. 

“You are,” Harry confirms, before turning the conversation back to Louis. “And how old are you gonna be, Louis?” He’s smiling, curls framing his face like a halo.

“I’m turning twenty nine in a few days, actually,” Louis says. “Christmas Eve.”

“Oof,” Harry says. “A Christmas Eve baby. Rough.”

“I know!” Louis says. “When I was little, I absolutely hated it. I’d only ever get one present because it double-counted for my Christmas gift and my birthday gift.” He shakes his head. “A little kid’s absolute horror.”

Harry laughs. “I’m sure it was.” The car turns around a corner, and he gestures towards the window at the street. “We’re downtown now. This is the barber’s shop, the bakery, the church, the bed and breakfast, the florists’…” Harry continues listing the names of the buildings lining the narrow street. 

Louis cranes his neck to look out at “downtown”. It’s rather small, the road is thin and the buildings are tiny. Main street only stretches a few blocks. But as a whole, it’s quaint and cozy rather than suffocating. 

“Unfortunately, most of them don’t seem to be open,” he says, frowning. The lights are off in nearly all the buildings. “Darn.” Even the bed and breakfast is closed, a “No vacancy” sign hung up on the front window.

“Yeah, I didn’t think they would be,” Harry says. “The weather’s been like this for quite a while, and most would’ve shut down earlier. But it didn’t hurt to try.”

“Where’s the auto shop?” Louis asks.

“It’s down the road further out from here,” Harry says. “I’ll give you their phone number so you can call them, but they’re probably closed.”

“Darn,” Louis repeats.

“I have to pee,” Jamie reminds Louis, tugging on his sleeve.

“Ok, buddy,” Louis says. “Hang on a minute. Do you know of any places we can stay for the night?”

Harry’s frowning deeply, large dimples forming in his cheeks. “I don’t think you’re going to find anywhere to stay, Louis. The bed and breakfast is closed and there’s no motels here.”

“This is awful,” Louis mutters, shaking his head. They’re lost, nearly stranded, and apparently homeless for the night.

“Of course, you’re gonna stay at mine,” Harry decides matter of factly.

“What?” Louis looks over at him in shock. “Harry, no, you don’t have to. I don’t want to intrude.”

Harry shrugs, palming the steering wheel as he pulls away from main street. “It’s not intruding if I invited you.”

Louis hesitates. “Are you sure?” At this point, Louis doesn’t really care if Harry turns out to be a murderer. He’s been nice enough up to this point, and Louis is at least twenty percent confident he could take Harry down if he tried to attack him or Jamie. Then, Louis catches a glimpse of Harry’s back shifting under his jacket and revises his thought. At least ten percent confident he could take Harry down in a fight. Plus, it’s really fucking cold outside. It’s probably worth it.

Harry nods. “Of course. It’s no problem.” He shrugs. “Mi casa es su casa, and all that.”

“Alright,” Louis concedes. “Okay.”

~~~

Harry’s home looks extremely cozy and welcoming. The front is decorated with lights and candy canes, and the inside is warm and toasty. Louis and Jamie step in after Harry, who points Jamie towards the bathroom then goes to the foot of the stairs.

“Mum!” he calls. “I’ve brought guests!”

A woman with long dark hair and laughter lines emerges from the top of the stairs and beams at Harry and Louis. “Hi, welcome!” She shakes Louis’s hand. “I’m Anne, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Louis,” Louis says, smiling at her. “Likewise.” He feels pressure on his leg and looks down at Jamie, returned from the bathroom. “This is my son, Jamie.”

Jamie smiles up at Anne, who crouches to his level and shakes his hand. “Hi.”

“Hi, there,” Anne says. “I’m Anne, Harry’s mum.” She looks up. “So what brings you two here?”

“There's that awful snowstorm going on, and their car broke down,” Harry explains to his mum.

Anne shakes his head and clucks her tongue. “Bringing home strangers again, Harry?” She smiles at the two of them despite her words. “You guys are welcome to stay as long as you need.”

“Is it alright if they stay with me in the bungalow?” Harry asks. 

“Go ahead,” she says. “Gemma will be coming home soon so she can just take your old room.”

“Alright, thanks mum,” Harry says, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek. 

Harry leads them back outside, where they get in the car and drive a little ways down a back road to a rather sizable guest house on the property. It’s got a large yard and a pool.

“This is where I’ve been staying,” Harry explains. “I mostly just sleep here though, and I hang out at the main house most of the time. This one just has more privacy and space for myself.”

The foyer is small and crowded, but the large, open living room past the entryway is warm and cozy, with a large fireplace, piles of blankets, and plush sofas. There’s a small kitchen and dining area through a doorway and a set of stairs. It’s small, but quaint, much like the rest of the town he’s seen so far.

Harry gives them a brief tour and shows them to the guest rooms down the hall. “Dinner will be at like seven or eight in the main house. I usually eat with my parents, but if I’m busy or feel like being alone, I’ll cook for myself in here.”

After getting Jamie settled, Louis puts his bags on the bed and wonders how the hell he ended up here. About five hours ago, he’d been leaving London for his mum’s, and now his car is broke down and he’s in the private home of a very cute boy that he’s only just met half an hour ago. How is this his life?

~~~

Dinner is pleasant. Anne and her husband, Robin, make a very delicious meal of potatoes, steak, lasagna, and rice. Harry’s sister, Gemma, is there too, and there’s plenty of banter and laughs around the table. Gemma is much like Harry, smart, witty, and sarcastic, and the two trade jokes back and forth. The whole family is especially enamored with Jamie, making sure to involve him in the conversation and ask him things about school or friends or hobbies. They’re all super friendly and welcoming and the entire scene is so much like home. They remind Louis of his own family.

He’d called his mother right after getting settled in his room and informed her of the situation. She was worried, but reassured when Louis told her that he’d found a nice place to stay. After that, he’d called the auto repair shop, but learned that they’d be closed until the day after Christmas, so he’d probably have to wait until then to get his car fixed. That is, if the snow slows down by then. 

It’d been coming down hard and thick since their drive, and it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon. There’s at least two feet of snow on the ground now, blanketing all the roads.

After dinner, Jamie goes to sleep, and when Louis and Harry are settled in the bungalow watching the television and drinking glasses of wine, they see the news about the blizzard. It’s the biggest snowstorm in a decade, apparently.

“What do you think about that, Niall?” asks the male reporter onscreen. His name is Liam, and he kind of resembles David Beckham. “Biggest storm in a decade, yeah?”

Niall, an energetic-looking blond guy, nods, looking worried. “It’s gonna be rough few days, especially for northern England. The blizzard started at approximately twelve today and probably won’t end until Monday, December 26th.”

“That’s really unfortunate for all those who want to visit their families,” Liam says, shaking his head. “But try to avoid driving this weekend. It’s not safe weather.”

“And we’ve just heard that the train lines are shutting down, Liam,” Niall cuts in. “Even if you did manage to get to a station, chances are they won’t be running until the 26th.”

“We realize this is a major inconvenience for the entire country,” Liam says. “But it’s in the interest of everyone’s safety. So sit tight and stay tuned for the next few days.”

“Be sure to stay inside; stay warm and stay safe,” Niall adds with a grin before the news channel signs off. 

“You’re welcome to stay here another few days,” Harry tells Louis, turning to face him on the couch. 

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis says, twisting his thumbs together. “I don’t want to overstay, but I don’t think that I’ll be able to get anywhere in this weather.”

“I agree. We’ve got the room here, you can definitely stay longer.” Harry shrugs. “It’s no problem for us.”

“Thank you so much,” Louis says again. “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem,” Harry tells him again. “I’m sure you’d do the same for me, right?”

Louis considers it. Should he go for honesty or courtesy? He picks the former. “I don’t know. I’m not so sure about that.”

“Really?” Harry looks at him with curiosity, green eyes piercing his stare.

“No, no, no,” Louis says laughing. “It’s just different in London.”

“Different how?” Harry asks.

“Yeah, I mean.” Louis waves his hands around helplessly, trying to articulate his thoughts. “In London, it’s not common to help out strangers in such a huge way, you know?” 

“Not really, no,” Harry says, frowning.

“Like, if a person sees someone in need of help, they’re probably more likely to give ‘em a little change, or call someone for them, rather than bring them into their home or personally assist them.” Louis shrugs. “In London, everyone’s just a little less trusting, and a little more in a rush.”

Harry nods slowly. “I get that. In Manchester, there were a lot of people like that, but I’ve always been taught to help others, no matter what.” He pulls the knitted blanket on the couch further up his torso. “It’s just how I am.”

“I used to be more trusting,” Louis admits. “But once something happens that breaks your trust, you kinda stay on guard more. Plus, with Jamie around, I’m always a little more wary. You never know with strangers, right?” 

“What happened that broke your trust?” Harry sounds genuinely curious. The TV flickers behind him, illuminating his face.

“A few years ago, someone homeless once asked me for a place to stay and a little money and then stole my entire wallet and the television.” Louis shrugs. “Not a big deal now, but it was a huge deal at the time. It was a relatively new television, and all my identification and credit cards were in that wallet.”

“Fuck,” Harry says, shaking his head. “That sucks.”

“Jamie was honestly so upset about not being able to watch his cartoons,” Louis jokes, shaking his head. “But seriously, it really sucked at the time.” 

“I mean, I can totally understand why you’d be less trusting now,” Harry says. “You don’t want to generalize people, but if one stranger crosses you, you’re going to be more cautious with them in the future.” Harry leans over and place his wineglass on the coffee table.

“Exactly.” 

“Is that how you felt when I offered you a ride?” Harry chews on his thumbnail a little. Louis’s been noticing he does that often, like it’s a nervous tic he can’t help.

“I did seriously consider the pros and cons of getting into your car,” Louis admits. “I decided possibly getting murdered was worth not having to stand in the cold for another few hours.”

“Really?”

“It was pretty cold,” Louis points out.

Harry laughs. “I’m glad you convinced yourself. Aren’t you happy now? We’re sitting by the fireplace, watching television, drinking wine.” His gaze is warm, too, and whenever he turns it toward Louis, he feels a bit more fluttery inside.

“You’re certainly one of the more hospitable murderers I’ve ever met,” Louis says slyly.

Harry guffaws and shoves Louis a little. They sit in comfortable silence for a few until Harry glances at the time. It’s about ten. “Wanna watch a film?” 

“What’ve you got?”

“Is ‘Love, Actually’ alright?” 

“It’s more than alright, I love that movie,” Louis says seriously. “My friends always laugh at me, but it’s one of my favorites.”

“Mine too,” Harry exclaims. “I live by it.” He crosses his heart. Louis laughs, but he’s dead serious. “I swear.”

Harry gets up to put the DVD into the player and set up the television controls. Then he brings Louis a new glass of wine and sits down next to him on the sofa.

Not ten minutes in, Harry gets a phone call, and quietly takes it just outside of the living room. Unfortunately, the movie’s audio doesn’t prevent Louis from accidentally eavesdropping. He sounds like he’s apologizing, letting someone know that’s it’s alright they can’t get out of the house in this weather. Harry ends the phone call with a “bye, babe, love you. Can’t wait to see you.”

For reasons unknown, Louis’s heart sinks a little when he hears that.

Later in the dark of the room, Louis looks over at Harry. He’s blanketed in shadows, but they only define his jawline and cheekbones more than ever. The firelight casts a warm glow on his skin and illuminates his hair and eyes. He’s still as beautiful as he was when Louis first saw him, all bundled up and snug behind the wheel of his car. 

Too bad he seems to be taken.

After the movie, they part ways with a quiet “goodnight”. Louis heads off to the guest room and Harry to his own room across the hall. It’s a comfortable exchange, and it almost feels like he does it every night. 

That night, he lies in the bed awake, feeling like he’s lost, but a little like he’s been found.

~~~

The next day, the snow is coming down just as heavy as it was last night. It’s a little upsetting, yeah, but Louis’s too busy enjoying the warmth of the fire and Harry’s homestyle pancakes to complain. All of them had woken up pretty late, around noon, and there’s nowhere really for them to be, so they’d taken their time waking up and making breakfast.

After breakfast, when Jamie asks to play outside, Louis bundles him up in warm clothes and helps him build a snowman in Harry’s backyard. The snowman is awkwardly crooked, but he’s got a carrot nose and a cute hat and scarf, so Jamie’s pretty satisfied.

Louis offers to help Harry shovel the snow, and they clear out the back path and front patio while Jamie watches them from a makeshift snow fort that he’d built for himself. The snow is heavy and hard to lift with their shovels, and eventually Louis gives up and spends his time making snowballs to pelt at Harry’s head instead. This dissolves into a full-out snowball war, Louis hiding in Jamie’s snow fort and throwing clumps of snow across the lawn haphazardly, laughing whenever Harry’s hit and consequently adopts a grumpy facial expression.

The game changes when Harry manages to stuff a snowball down Louis’s jacket. Piercing cold numbs his entire back and chest and with a loud battle cry, he and Jamie hurl snowballs at Harry faster than ever. 

Throughout the whole fight, the snow keeps coming down heavily and nearly blurs their vision, but Louis and Jamie manage to take Harry’s snow fort and declare victory. Laughing with defeat and holding his hands up in surrender, Harry shakes his head and beckons for them to head inside for some hot chocolate and television by the TV. 

They spend the rest of the day inside. Harry bakes some cookies and lets Jamie help, while Louis watches on fondly. Later on, they enjoy cookies while playing an intense game of Monopoly. At one point, Harry gets extremely riled up because Jamie steals some money from the Monopoly box, and Louis laughs as they get into a heated debate. Then Harry proposes a Mario Kart tournament, which dissolves into absolute carnage when Jamie destroys both of them without even trying. Even though Louis usually feels awfully trapped and restless when he’s stuck inside the house like this, he’s enjoying himself. He’s laughed so hard today and he can’t remember the last time he’s had this much fun.

Throughout it all, Louis can’t help but notice how good Harry is with kids, how well he seems to get along with Jamie and how easily Jamie accepts Harry as a friend. It’s not uncommon for Jamie to warm up to strangers, but it usually doesn’t happen this quickly.

All in all, the day is short but satisfying. Louis hopes that tomorrow the snow will lighten up so he can possibly get out and do something. Cabin fever is the worst and he’s not even been inside for a full day yet. Plus, tomorrow’s his birthday. He hasn’t reminded Harry, he doesn’t really want him to go out of his way for him, but he’s itching to go out and keep busy, because when he’s got nothing to do he only sits and thinks about how much he’s missing back home in Doncaster.

—

Louis wakes up on his birthday feeling rather disoriented. For a second, he forgets that he’s not home, in his mum’s house. He forgets that the noise downstairs isn’t his younger sisters chattering away, getting ready for breakfast.

He’s a little bit sad when he realizes that he’s in Harry’s home, because although he likes staying here, he misses his family terribly. He hasn’t seen Ernest or Doris or the other twins in so long, and even though he only saw Lottie a few weeks ago he misses her a lot. Not to mention that he misses his mum.

Luckily, he’s got Jamie here to cheer him up. Jamie runs in the room shortly after Louis’s come to his senses and jumps on his bed without hesitation, yelling, “Happy birthday, daddy!”

Louis laughs and tackles Jamie onto the bed, ruffling his hair and hugging him tightly. “Thanks, J!”

“Me and Harry made you breakfast,” Jamie informs Louis, sitting up and hopping off the bed. And then, Harry comes in with a tray of eggs, sausage, and toast with a side of bacon and potatoes. There’s a bottle of orange juice perched on the end of the tray, and a small breakfast pastry. A cute little birthday card is propped up against the bottle of juice that reads, “Happy Birthday!” It’s the sweetest thing Louis’s ever seen.

“Thanks so much,” Louis tells Harry, his heart swelling at the thought of Jamie and Harry putting together a birthday breakfast for him. It’s all cute and domestic, and feels a bit like they’re a little family of three. “You didn’t have to, really.”

Harry shrugs. “I wanted to. You’re away from home, and it’s your birthday. C’mon and eat, I’ve got a whole bunch of things planned.” His swipes some hair away from his eyes and smiles at Louis.

Louis kind of blushes under Harry’s gaze and looks away. “Harry, all this is so kind of you, and you really don’t have to. I wasn’t expecting anything. Like, at all.”

“Exactly why I want to do it,” Harry says. “Plus, today’s the first day since I picked you up that the snow’s lightened. I’ve got plans for us.”

After breakfast, Anne offers to take care of Jamie for the day, and Harry takes Louis downtown. Which in Holmes Chapel, isn’t much. There’s about one road of little shops and bakeries and a pub, but that’s pretty much it. 

The snow is still coming down, and there’s a good few feet of it lining the street, but it’s mostly been plowed away so they have a clear path to walk. Louis’s all bundled up in his scarf, hat, and snow boots, and so is Harry. Only a few businesses seem to be open today. They look like a right pair, clomping through the empty streets.

“Sorry,” Harry says sheepishly. His cheeks are flushed from the cold weather. “This is like, the only thing we’ve got in Holmes Chapel to do.” 

Louis whistles. “Wow. I thought my hometown was small.”

“Doncaster’s probably a lot larger than here,” Harry admits, laughing. “But it’s got character!” 

“Really,” Louis says flatly. He smiles at Harry to let him know he’s just bantering.

“Yeah! See, over there is the bakery where I had my first job.” There’s a cute little shop on the corner that reads “Mandeville Bakery”. Louis can’t see much of it from the outside, but there’s a fancy display window and it looks family-owned.

“You baked?” Louis raises an eyebrow skeptically, then grins.

“Excuse me, Louis,” Harry says, mock offended. “I was a great baker.”

“I’m sure,” Louis laughs, rubbing his hands together, then stuffing them into his pockets. He hasn’t got a pair of gloves, and it’s quite chilly out.

Harry notices. “Are your hands cold? Do you need gloves?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Louis says. 

“Alright,” Harry says, but he still looks concerned.

“Your job,” Louis prompts him.

“Oh, right. Actually, I mostly just gave change and swept floors,” Harry laughs. “And sometimes, I dropped a few pastries on the ground because then I’d get a free snack.”

“That’s so funny, oh my god,” Louis says, shaking his head. “I can just picture a young Harry Styles ‘accidentally’ dropping food on the ground and then stuffing them into his mouth afterwards.”

“That’s basically how it was,” Harry admits, grinning. “I thought I was so subtle. Turns out Barbara knew I was taking the pastries all along but let me do it anyway.”

Louis laughs. “That’s so great, although I really shouldn’t be laughing. I’ve held many jobs in my teenage years, and all of them ended up with me quitting or getting sacked.”

“What happened?”

“When I worked at the Doncaster Rovers stadium, I stole burgers from the food stand I worked at, and my boss wasn’t as lenient as your Barbara,” Louis chuckles. “And at the Toys R Us I worked at, I skeeved off work all the time and fooled around when I actually worked…” he winces. “Not my finer days.”

Harry laughs so loudly he practically shouts. “You must’ve been such a rebellious teenager.”

“I thought I was proper cool,” Louis admits. “In reality, I acted like a total twat.”

“Well, we all have our twattish stages.” Harry adjusts the scarf around his neck. “So, the Doncaster Rovers stadium? You into football?”

Louis nods firmly. “Of course. Used to play when I was younger, and I still play when I have free time nowadays.”

“Who do you support?”

“Man U.”

“Me too!” Harry looks delighted, almost like a child.

“Well that’s it, then,” Louis declares. “We’re automatic best friends.”

“Awesome,” Harry says. He bumps Louis’s fist.

Louis laughs. “So what was your big plan for today?”

Harry shrugs. “Walk around here, a little, I guess. Show you the town. Maybe stop by some of the more picturesque, scenic areas. Then we can go back, have a nice meal, and hang out with Jamie?”

“Alright,” Louis says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Sounds good.” He hasn’t got anything better planned, after all. 

The two make their way down the main street and Harry leads them into a cute little cafe, where he buys them hot chocolates and donuts to go. 

Harry takes him past the buildings and to a secluded, open area. In the summer and during warmer weather, it’s probably a wide open field, with a few wooded areas here and there and a couple of old brick arches of a bridge with graffiti on them. There's not another soul in sight, except for a few birds twirling around the bare trees, and the wind is still. It’s quiet between them, but the silence is comfortable. It’s peaceful.

"Wow," Louis remarks in a hushed voice. "It's really pretty out here." It's a nice little spot of serenity away from the rest of civilization, a kind of escape, despite Holmes Chapel being rather small and picturesque to begin with. 

"The sky is so beautiful," Harry says. The sky is a deep, gorgeous blue, a few puffy white clouds floating above their heads. Despite the cold weather, it looks warm and bright. "It's the same colour as your eyes," he points out. 

Louis blushes a little. Did Harry just kind of call his eyes beautiful? Louis isn't sure. Before he can ask, Harry changes the subject. 

Harry gestures off towards a bunch of trees. “That’s where I had my first kiss, when I was about twelve.” When he speaks, his breath puffs out in front of him in a white cloud.

“In the woods?” Louis asks, shielding his eyes from the strong sun.

“Up against a tree,” Harry chuckles. “It was pret-ty steamy.” He wiggles his eyebrows and leers.

Louis rolls his eyes, shoving him. “I’m sure, Styles. A proper stud, even in your youth.” He shuffles his feet a little.

“No, but actually it was proper awkward,” Harry says, laughing. “She was so surprised by it that she didn’t even kiss back at first.”

Louis laughs. “I had my first kiss in my backyard. I was locked out of the house and we had nothing better to do, so.”

“Kissing out of boredom,” Harry muses. “That’s new.”

“We were really bored,” Louis defends himself, grinning.

“How was your snogging technique?” Harry smirks.

“God-awful,” Louis admits. The girl he’d kissed had simply laughed and taught him how to do it better, though.

“Well, at least you’ve probably improved by now, eh?” Harry laughs. “I mean, you ended up having Jamie and all.”

“Um,” Louis says. “She’s not really in the picture anymore. Jamie’s mum, that is.”

“Oh, I’m really sorry,” Harry says. “I didn’t mean to be nosy, or anything.”

Louis shrugs. He usually doesn’t go too into detail about his whole thing with Jamie’s mum since it’s still relatively recent, only five or six months ago, in fact, but these past few days with Harry have made him really comfortable around him. He feels like he’s okay with sharing things with him, things that he usually wouldn’t tell others.

“It’s fine.” He toes his foot into a mound of snow and takes a deep breath of cold air. It pierces his lungs. “Things happen. Eleanor, Jamie’s mum, was my first real, serious girlfriend. I dated her nearly all throughout university, because I’d met her in second year uni halls, when I was about twenty. We were together for nearly four years until she got pregnant. Then I proposed, because, you know, it seemed like the next natural step.”

Harry whistles, long and low. “That’s quite a long time, though. My longest relationship isn’t near as long.”

Louis shrugs. “I’m a relationship kind of guy, you know? In college and sixth form, I had the same three steady partners, although each one lasted a fair bit shorter than Eleanor did.”

Harry nods. 

“Anyway, we moved to London after uni and then Eleanor had Jamie, and it was really nice for a while. Eleanor worked as a fashion editor at a magazine and I taught drama at the college level, and directed some plays on the side. We made enough to live a comfortable life and raise Jamie together. Things were pretty good. But then we started having problems.”

Louis takes a deep breath. “She started pulling away. I was really eager to make it work and figure things out, but she wanted more than just what we had, and I don’t blame her.” He shrugs, resigned. “We didn’t have much chemistry as a couple anymore, and when she got a job offer to work in Milan, she jumped at the chance. At that point, we both knew that we had to split up, so we did. I got custody of Jamie because I was staying in London, and Eleanor was fine with that. Then, she left for Milan. We still talk, and things ended on good terms, but it’s still weird.” 

Harry gazes at Louis, his eyes sympathetic. He doesn’t say anything, but the fact that he’s listening so intently is enough. 

Louis shrugs. “I think the weirdest thing was, that even though we had built a great life together in London and had a family together, we still found it so easy to separate. Like in the end, there wasn’t enough to hold us together.”

Harry is silent, staring at the ground. The whole time Louis’s been talking, they’ve been walking around the open field in the snow, their hot chocolate cups warming their hands. Now, they stop and stand still. It’s a few moments before he speaks.

“At least it wasn’t hard on you,” he finally says. “I’ve been there before, where a breakup is such a hard thing to do that it ruins you, it practically tears you apart. One of my ex-boyfriends cheated on me. The pain was so harsh that I was devastated for months. I’m so glad that you didn’t have to go through that.”

Louis’s heart leaps into his throat at Harry’s words. He’d subtly dropped a hint about his sexuality into their conversation, and he can’t help the hope that swells within him. But that’s not important right now. 

Louis bites his lip and offers Harry a smile in sympathy. “I’m really sorry that you had to go through that.” He shrugs. “I’m grateful that it worked out nicely for Jamie's sake, at least. But it’s also kind of sad, you know? The fact that I spent almost nine years in a relationship that in the end, wasn’t that strong of one. It was worth it, of course, because I got Jamie out of it, and I learned a lot from it, but I feel like a relationship should have passion, fire, sharp emotion, right? And I didn’t feel that with Eleanor. I didn’t really feel that with my previous partners, Hannah or Jacob, either.”

Louis doesn’t know if he was very subtle, name-dropping one of his ex-boyfriends into conversation to hint to Harry that he’s bisexual. Either way, he doesn’t care. It’s out. Harry knows.

Harry is unfazed, and gives him a warm smile. “It’ll happen someday, Louis. I’ve only known you for what, three days? And I already know that you’re really great, and smart, and funny, and kind, and you’ve been through a lot.”

Louis feels hot all over. Harry continues. “You deserve that kind of relationship with someone, and someday you’ll get it.” His green eyes are unwavering, and kind. Louis feels like they’re piercing through him, seeing him for all that he is.

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis says. He doesn’t mention that the few days he’s spent with Harry, he’s felt more happiness, fondness, and emotion than he has in any other relationship. That thought kind of scares him, because he’s only known Harry for a few days, and in a few days he’ll have to leave him. He can’t get attached. Plus, there’s also the fact that Harry might be in a relationship.

When Harry pulls Louis into a warm, sweet hug, Louis tries his best not to tear up. It’s a lot, okay, and he’s emotional. It’s understandable.

—

When they get back, Jamie tells them all about this day with Anne and Gemma, who baked cookies for Santa and played board games with him. They try some of Jamie’s cookies, which are sugar decorated with multicolored icing and rainbow sprinkles.

“These are so good,” Harry says. “No lie. You should be a baker.”

“I know,” Jamie says matter-of-factly. After that, he is eager to hang out with them, requesting that they all play outside again. Like yesterday, Harry is ridiculously kind and indulgent with Jamie, always going along with his playacting, participating in his games and entertaining him. It’s horribly unfair how cute it all is. 

Louis wishes Harry were a little less easy to like. He’s kind, he’s charming, and he’s got really great hair and useful advice. In all senses of the matter, he’s exactly Louis’s type.

But when he once again hears Harry sharing a private phone call with someone else, he’s reminded that Harry’s not his. That he’s only known Harry for a total of three and a half days.

That he has no chance with him.

It’s kind of a bummer.

And that night, when Louis gives into his feelings and strokes himself to climax, if he happens to think of a pair of lovely green eyes, strong, broad shoulders, a sinful mouth and a head of brown curls, then no one has to know.

—

Christmas Day dawns bright and early. Much too early for Louis’s liking.

Jamie bounces on Louis’s bed the moment the clock turns eight o’clock. He rips the covers back, letting cold air rush over Louis’s bare legs, and shouts in Louis’s ear. “Wake up, Daddy!” He’s always been an early riser on Christmas morning because he knows there’ll be gifts for him under the tree. Unfortunately, that’s not the case this year.

“What’s up, J?” Louis yawns, stretching his arms over his head. He pulls the covers back over his legs, relishing the warmth of the guest bed. 

“It’s Christmas!” Jamie jumps off the bed and runs around in circle excitedly. “Time to see what Santa brought me!”

“Oh, Jamie,” Louis says weakly, grasping for an excuse. “I’m afraid you didn’t get gifts from Santa today.”

“What?” Jamie looks crestfallen. “Why not?”

“Because we’re not at home,” Louis explains gently. “He delivered your gifts to Grandma’s, J.” That is actually true. Louis had ordered Jamie’s presents online this year and shipped them to his mum’s knowing that they’d be there for Christmas morning.

“Oh,” Jamie says. “So I’ll get them tomorrow?”

Louis tries to remember what day the auto shop said they’d be open. “Probably, J.”

“Okay.” Jamie takes it surprisingly well. “Tomorrow!”

“Yup, now get dressed, buddy.”

When the two head downstairs, Harry greets them with a huge smile. “Merry Christmas, guys!” 

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis says. “Happy Christmas to you too.”

“I thought we could head over to the main house for breakfast and gifts and stuff?” Harry asks.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

The three trek across the yard to the main house. Although it’s stopped snowing and the sky is clear, the roads are still blanketed in at least a foot of snow. The streets should be clear by tomorrow, though, Louis realizes. They may actually leave tomorrow.

The realization is both exciting and disappointing.

In the main house, Anne and Robin have a huge tree set up adorned with tons of ornaments, lights, and tinsel. There’s a fire going in the fireplace, and Gemma is snuggled up on the sofa with the family cat. It’s all very nice and cozy.

Harry puts on a Christmas playlist, and Anne and Robin pass out the gifts that were sitting under the tree.

There’s a pile of presents for each member of Harry’s family, and when Anne gives the go-ahead they all tear into their gifts.

Louis is surprised and touched when he and Jamie each get one from Harry, who hands them over with a warm grin.

Jamie tears into his eagerly and without hesitation, and is delighted to find a pair of superhero action figures. He immediately sets them up on the carpet and begins playing with them.

In Louis’s gift, he finds a pair of soft, warm, well-made gloves. He glances up at Harry with fondness in his eyes. He knows Harry bought them the gifts without asking or expecting anything in return. 

“Thank you so much,” he murmurs, leaning in to hug him. “I’m so sorry, we didn’t get you guys anything.” 

“We don’t expect anything,” Harry tells him. “Your company is enough.” He winks, and laughs.

“You’ve done so much for us already,” Louis insists. 

“It’s not a problem,” Harry says. “Don’t worry about it, Louis, it’s our pleasure.”

Louis lets it be, but makes a mental note to get them all gifts later. It’s the least he can do.

After breakfast, they all gather in the lounge to watch Christmas movies. It’s warm and relaxing, domestic and welcoming. Louis feels like he and Jamie belong, even though they’ve only known Harry’s family for a few days. They’re practically strangers in Anne and Robin’s household. 

But it almost feels like home.

—

Harry’s family is content to spend all their time indoors for the rest of Christmas day. At dinner, they have a huge roast, and they spend hours chatting and talking, even after Jamie leaves the table to play with his new toys.

By nine o’clock, he’s out like a light, sleeping soundly on the floor of the lounge, curled protectively around his action figures. Louis makes a move to pick him up, take him back to the guest bed in the bungalow, but Harry stops him.

“He looks so peaceful.”

“Yeah,” Louis agrees. In sleep, Jamie looks even younger than he is now, his face smoothed of any emotion except calmness. 

“Let him be,” Harry suggests. “Wake him up later.”

“Alright,” Louis says. He does look extremely peaceful and content, curled up on the floor in a ball like a kitten. 

Out of curiosity, Louis wanders over to the mantel, looking at the framed photographs hanging above it and perched onto the fireplace shelf. There’s a bunch of photos of Harry and Gemma as kids, playing together or hugging each other. At the end of the mantel, there’s a picture of Harry as a young boy, eyes big and round, beaming into the camera. He’s got light hair, almost blonde, and it’s straight rather than curly.

“Harry? Is that you?” Louis asks.

Harry approaches him from behind, laughing when he sees the picture Louis’s pointing at. “Oh, wow. I must’ve been about three or four there.”

“You look so different,” Louis muses. “Except not really. It’s just the hair. That cheeky little smile is still there.”

“Of course. I was quite the charmer, even back then,” Harry says with mock seriousness. “No one could resist me.”

Louis laughs. “Of course you were.”

Gemma, who’s been sitting on the couch reading a magazine, is getting up to head into the kitchen when she suddenly laughs loudly and almost hysterically. “Harry, this couldn’t be more perfect.”

“What, Gems?” Harry turns to look at her, one eyebrow raised.

“Look up,” is all she says, smirking before disappearing into the kitchen.

Slowly, Louis glances upward, and is equally surprised and embarrassed at what he sees.

A small sprig of mistletoe is pinned to the ceiling above them, a red bow tied neatly on the plant. 

Louis’s heart leaps, and his palms start to sweat. Shit. This is so, so, bad. If Harry kisses him, Louis probably won't be able to hide his growing feelings for him. And if Harry really has a boyfriend or something, then to him it’d just be a casual kiss. No big deal. But it’d be a pretty big fucking deal to Louis.

“Gemma,” Harry breathes out, looking both sheepish and suggestive at the same time. He turns to Louis, shrugging in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way. His eyes are really really green this close.

“Um, well,” Louis begins, but before he can finish, Harry swoops in, places his hands on Louis’s waist, and kisses him. 

It takes him by surprise. 

Louis isn’t sure if Harry meant it to be just a peck, but he doesn't really care, because the first thing he does when Harry’s lips touch his is wrap his arms around his neck, lean in closer, and angle his head to the right to kiss him deeper. Harry responds eagerly, his hands moving up Louis’s back into his hair. His lips are really soft and mould perfect against Louis's own, and his hands feel hot where they're cradling his head. It feels amazing.

Shit, shit, shit.

All Louis knows at the moment is Harry, encompassing him, breathing him in, touching him. For the first time in an unbelievably long time, Louis feels sparks, starting low in his belly and exploding into his chest. He feels passion.

They only break apart a few minutes later when Gemma wolf-whistles from the doorway. She’s practically red with contained laughter, only barking out a chuckle after they jump apart and turn to look at her. Louis is practically teeming with embarrassment, his cheeks red.

Harry laughs too, and runs over to tackle Gemma to the floor. Louis is left awkwardly standing there alone with his feelings, unsure of what to do. His lips still tingle from the kiss. He resists the urge to bring his fingers to his mouth and brush at the places where Harry kissed him.

His heart feels a bit swollen, and he's a little dizzy. Louis thinks he might possibly have a crush on Harry. A big one. 

But Harry has a boyfriend, possibly. Maybe. Or someone. Either way, he’s most likely off-limits. And that really sucks.

After that, it’s awkward. Or, at least it is from Louis’s side of things. He’s unusually silent, seeing as he’d been super chatty the rest of the night. He can barely make eye contact with either Harry or Gemma, and chooses to make small talk with Robin or Anne instead. At one point, he sits on the sofa, stroking Dusty, the family cat, instead of next to Harry, who looks confused when Louis turns down the empty seat beside him. 

They’re all just chilling in the lounge with glasses of wine and Christmas films, but it’s still so terribly awkward. The silence is unbelievably loud, and Louis hates it. Just a few minutes ago, it had been comfortable. Now, he doesn’t know what to do.

Louis excuses himself from the room, his heart pounding, and refills his glass of wine. Unfortunately, Harry follows him to the kitchen, and places a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

“Louis, are you okay?”

So he’s noticed Louis’s awkwardness over the past half-hour. Louis doesn’t blame him. He’s sure that he was really fucking obvious, but he closes his eyes and forces himself to look Harry in the eye. His green, green eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry I’m being so weird,” he says, smiling weakly. 

“No, you’re not fine,” Harry insists, peering at him in concern. “Is this about the kiss? Because I’m sorry if it was awkward or whatever.”

“Are you sorry it happened?” Louis blurts out, before he can stop himself. He mentally slaps himself.

Harry looks taken aback. “What? Of course not.” He brings a hand up to rub at the back of his neck and glances up at Louis through his eyelashes sheepishly. “If I’m honest, I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time.”

“What?” Louis isn’t sure he’s heard him right. 

Harry is unfazed. “Ever since you got in my car, actually.” He pauses for a moment, then continues. “Is that creepy?” 

Louis still can’t believe him. “But don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Harry stops. “What? No.”

Louis frowns. “But I heard you, the other day, on the phone…” he trails off weakly. “You called them ‘babe’, and said ‘I can’t wait to see you.’”

Understanding dawns, and Harry laughs, relieved. “No, no! That was my best friend, Niall. He's actually that guy from the news channel we were watching the weather report on the other day. He was supposed to visit from Ireland this week, but the weather and such prevented him from traveling to England. We have these little pet names for each other.”

“Oh,” Louis says, blushing. He feels a little bit stupid now, to be honest.

Harry smirks at him. “Were you jealous?”

“No,” Louis lies. “I wasn’t.”

“You were!” Harry laughs, a full belly laugh that echoes throughout the kitchen. Louis smacks him on the arm, trying to suppress a grin. “No, but seriously, I’m single. And I really, really like you, if you haven’t gotten that yet.”

Louis looks down at the floor, suddenly shy. “I really like you, too, Harry.”

Harry tips Louis’s chin upwards, forcing him to look into his eyes. His gentle thumbs stroke over his cheekbones and push his hair back from his forehead. He’s so, so close. “Good,” he says. “Because I’m really glad your car broke down and you came to stay with us.”

“Me, too,” Louis whispers. “Best day of my life.” Harry’s so close now that he can feel his breaths warming his lips. “And these past few days with you and your family have been amazing. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I could think of a few ways,” Harry says, wiggling his eyebrows, then laughs softly. A few curls fall into his face, his eyes sparkle with mischief, and his hands tighten around Louis’s waist.

He’s beautiful.

“God, you’re so lovely,” Louis says, his voice a little hoarse, and before he can lose his nerve, he leans in and kisses Harry. And it’s just as terrific and earth-shattering as it was earlier.

—

The next day, saying goodbye is harder than Louis had anticipated. Before he and Harry began this _thing_ , he’d had enough trouble embracing the idea of leaving Holmes Chapel behind. He’d found a great friend in Harry and came to enjoy the small town that he stayed in. But now, it’s even harder to leave now that he knows exactly what he’s leaving.

When the car’s all fixed up by the auto repair shop and they’re packing their bags into the trunk, Louis is overcome by a sudden wave of sadness.

“Text me once you get there, let me know you’re alright,” Harry tells him, wrapping him into a warm hug. He rocks them back and forth. “And call me once you have time.”

“Alright,” Louis says. He still doesn’t know exactly where they stand, what this _thing_ is, if it’s short-lived or meant to burn brighter and longer, but it’s something, and that’s enough for now.

Harry gives Jamie a big hug as well, then helps him bundle his stuff into the car.

“I’ll miss you, Harry!” Jamie says, looking sad. And shit, now Louis wants to cry.

“I’ll miss you too,” Harry tells him. “Both of you.” He looks at Louis, and then wraps him into another hug. “I’ll miss you so much,” he whispers. 

Louis knows it’s only been four days. He’s only know Harry for about four days, but he’s still dreading the separation. He doesn’t want to leave, but Harry’s family has already been so generous and he doesn’t want to keep his mother in Doncaster waiting any longer. 

“I’ll miss you, too,” Louis tells Harry. 

When they drive away, Harry stands on the front step, waving, until they turn the corner and disappear out of sight.

—

Louis’s mum is extremely excited to see them both arrive safe and sound a few hours later. She makes them all a warm welcoming meal and Louis watches Jamie open his gifts with happiness and glee.

It’s great to be home, and it’s so nice to see all his siblings and his mum. But he’s missing Harry. A lot.

He calls him right before bed, and tells him so without hesitation. Harry returns the sentiment, and they spend all night talking about nothing and everything. Louis loves hearing his voice in his ear, focusing on Harry, and only Harry.

These feelings may run a little deeper than “just a crush” and even though it’s kind of scary, it’s nice. It’s been so long since Louis has felt anything for someone besides Eleanor, and that was a nine year long relationship that fizzled out near the end.

He’s been long overdue for some romance. If that’s what this is.

He’s dying to ask Harry what exactly this is, if they have a future, but he doesn’t want to seem to eager, too desperate. He doesn’t want to scare him off before anything even happens.

So instead, Louis settles for late night phone calls and a constant stream of texting for the next few days.

It’s still in the back of his mind, but he ignores it, saves it for another day.

—

On New Year’s Day, Louis wakes up to Jamie hitting his face with a pillow. He’s jumping up and down, rambling about something or other, and waving his hands in the air. That isn’t anything unusual. But Harry standing at the foot of his bed is.

“Harry?” Louis sits up and rubs his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. “What? How?”

“Louis,” Harry says warmly, and then it hits him. He jumps out of bed and runs over to give Harry a huge hug. And before he can stop himself, they’re kissing hello.

"I missed you," Harry says. "A lot." And it's crazy, because they've only been apart for five days. And they've only just met eight days ago. But that's exactly how Louis feels. 

"I missed you, too, I can't believe you're here, oh my god," Louis says back, heart hammering loudly in his chest. If this was any other time, he'd be internally freaking out over his blatant display of emotion. He'd be worrying _is it too much, too fast_? But here with Harry, it feels just right. 

“Daddy?” Jamie asks, tugging at his leg. “Why are you and Harry kissing?”

“Because,” Harry tells him. “We really really like each other, J. And if he’ll let me, I’d really like to be his boyfriend.”

Louis has died and gone to heaven, hasn’t he. “What?” he croaks out. He’s still half-asleep. Is he dreaming?

“I know we’ve only known each other for a short while,” Harry says. He wrings his hands together nervously. “But I really, really like you, and I think this could be something really great. I’d like to be your boyfriend, Louis, if you’ll have me.”

“I’d like you to,” Louis says shyly. His hands are still wrapped around Harry’s waist, and he’s beaming uncontrollably. “I’d really, really like that.”

“Good,” Harry says. “Because I’m moving to London for my new job in the next week or so, and I’d really like to move in knowing that you’re there. That we’re there.”

Louis can hardly believe how everything’s been working out for him so seamlessly this winter holiday. It’s like a dream that he keeps expecting to end. But every time he wakes up, he’s still living in it. He’s not waking up out of it, and he’s just now starting to believe that he won’t. 

There’s literally nothing he can say to Harry; he’s at a compete loss for words.

So instead of trying to think of a reply, he just kisses him.

—

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @ woefullyharry
> 
> Comments/kudos/bookmarks are always appreciated! :)


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